Years To Gain, Seconds To Lose
by IrishgirlE
Summary: In the aftermath of Trust Metric, the team still don't fully trust Colby. During a raid, Colby is paired with a rookie agent and things go wrong.


**Hello, this is my first Numb3rs fanfiction, so consider yourself warned. I'm sure that this is wildly out of character. I don't think I've watched more than a couple minutes of the show in years. Also, be warned, there is an OC who is the POV character for most of this. Hopefully, she's not a Mary Sue or too annoying a character. Nothing but the OC is owned by me. There is violence and blood in this fic, and possibly a tiny bit of swearing, I honestly don't remember. Hope you enjoy.**

* * *

Agent Rena Young fought to keep the excited smile off her face as Agent Eppes explained their strategy. This was her first serious case. So far, all she had done was write reports and fetch coffee. She hadn't even fired her gun yet outside of the shooting range, but she had impressed her boss with her quick thinking on their last case, and so he had suggested her when Agent Reeves broke her wrist during a chase.

Well, he had said "take Young, she's not doing much of anything. It might give her something useful to do," but she chose to take that as a confirmation of his faith in her.

After all, not only was she going on out on her first ever case with Agent Eppes, Agent Sinclair and replacing Agent Reeves, but she was going to be partnered with Agent Granger, the agent who had been a triple agent against the Chinese for years.

Granger had been her hero since before she joined the FBI and bumping into him while she fetched coffee had been enough to make her turn bright pink. Now she was going to be watching his back. It was like a dream come true.

She had been devasted when she had heard that he was a spy, but she had begun to doubt it almost as soon as she found out. She had become so certain that it was just a massive misunderstanding by the time Granger was broken out of jail, that she had only been relieved when he was publicly cleared of any wrongdoing.

"Agent Granger," Rena said, making her way over to Granger as soon as Agent Eppes ended the meeting.

Granger gave her a tight smile. "Hi, um, Agent Young?" He said, uncertainly.

She nodded, enthusiastically. He had remembered her name. "Yeah, I visited you while you were in the hospital, but you weren't awake properly then. I'm glad to see that you're okay now. I was worried," she babbled.

Granger's smile only tightened. "Thanks." His eyes darted over her should to where she knew Agents Sinclair and Eppes were standing and talking. Rena had been to briefings before with Eppes' team. She knew that, usually, Granger would have been talking things over with them. But not now. Not anymore. Not yet, anyway. "So, looks like we're partnered up for the bust," he said, clearly uncomfortable.

Rena nodded, enthusiastic still. "This is going to be my first bust, actually."

Granger's eyes widened. "Oh," he said, quietly. Then he shook himself. "Are you excited?" He asked, forcing enthusiasm into his own voice.

Rena nodded. "Yeah. I can't wait, to be on the ground for a case. It's what I got into the FBI for. Don't worry about me being a rookie, by the way," she added, "I've got an excellent score on the firing range. I know it's not the same, but I have more than enough experience off the field."

Granger nodded. "Well, it's good that you know the difference."

"Don't worry, sir. I'll have your back out there, rest assured. I'm so happy to be partnered with you, you're my favourite agent," Rena said.

Granger looked away, uncomfortable. "Really," he chuckled. "Still?"

Rena frowned. "Always," she said, serious. "You did nothing wrong, Agent Granger. Anyone who hasn't realised that yet? Then that's their loss. You're a hero. And you've got plenty of people who believe that too."

Granger smiled, still slightly uncomfortable. "Thank you, Agent Young," he said, quietly, so that no one else could hear him. "I hope your first bust goes well."

Rena smiled back at him. "Well, whatever happens, Agent Granger, I trust you to have my back, and I'll have yours." She nodded at him and walked away to return to her desk. She needed to prepare, especially if she was going to be true to her word and have Granger's back. He hadn't let the country down, so she wouldn't let him down.

She glanced back at Agent Eppes and Sinclair, who were still talking amongst themselves and ignoring Granger, who looked lost and lonely without his former friends. She sighed.

If only other people felt the same.

* * *

The raid was a disaster from the start.

It was a shame really, seeing as it was Rena's first outing as an agent. Later in life, she would recount this particular bust to her own rookie, reassuring him that, no, his first raid wasn't the worst to have ever gone down. She would proudly recount her own actions, and those of her then partner, to survive.

Now, however, Rena's only thought was on her partner. And the blood gushing out of his chest.

"R… R – Rena. Get out!" Granger ordered, slurring and gurgling. He was defenceless, on the ground, far from the exit with no immediate cover. No cover but the little bit that Rena provided with her own body.

Agent Eppes had called for a retreat when it became clear that, despite their plans, the bust wasn't going to go down in their favour. They came out on top in terms of numbers. Ten wounded agents – eleven, Rena amended – out of sixteen, versus fourteen dead drug smugglers. Fourteen out of fifteen.

"No can do, Agent Granger. And, anyway, I'm not leaving you behind!" She snapped at Granger.

The fifteenth smuggler – the ring leader – was needed alive. And he was alive, prowling the warehouse, searching for the two agents left inside. Even if Rena wanted to leave, she couldn't. She wouldn't.

Granger would die.

After spending three years undercover, months in prison, and being tortured on a Chinese freighter, Rena refused to allow her hero to die on the floor of a dirty warehouse because his partner left him behind.

He had taken a bullet for her. If she hadn't already been half in love with Granger, then she certainly was now.

 _Focus, Young!_

Behind her, a bullet pinged against the metal of the shipping container the they were shadowed under. It wouldn't cover them if the smuggler saw them, which he would soon. But her back was covered, for now.

"Alright, Granger. I'm not going to lie to you. This isn't good. The bullet went under the vest. It didn't hit anything vital, but you're bleeding an awful lot. I think the bullet is still in there."

Granger grunted. "I can feel it," he agreed.

"Gross," Rena said, unhelpfully. She mentally reprimanded herself again. _Focus_. "I'm going to need you to do me a favour, Granger," she requested.

"Another?" He teased. "I did just save your life."

She smiled. Even in what must be a massive amount of pain, he still took the time to tease her. "And I'm incredibly grateful. I'll owe you like… a hundred cups of coffee. Or some cake. I make a mean cake. If we live, tell me your favourite cake flavour." Focus. "But, in the meantime, I need you to tell me how you're feeling. Pain-wise, tired-wise. I know that that's hard for a hardened army man like yourself, but this is important. So, how are you feeling?"

Granger grunted again. "I – I've been better," he admitted.

"Recently?" She prodded, to get a scale of the pain. It was no torture drug, but doubtlessly a bullet wound still hurt.

"N – not that bad. But close."

She cursed. "Okay! Well, we can work with that. Sinclair and Eppes are somewhere outside. I'm sure that once they've secured the wounded then they'll be back for us," she said, forcing some cheer into her voice.

Granger didn't look like he believed a word of it. "D- do me a favour, Agent?"

"Rena," Rena corrected.

"Rena," Granger sighed. "Call me Colby, then? And, please, don't lie to me. That's the favour."

"I won't lie to you, Colby," she promised. "I'm not leaving you."

Colby smiled. "Thanks, Rena. And, thanks for the offer of cake," he added, somewhat bemused.

Rena refused to take back her offer. She did make a mean cake.

"But," Colby gasped out. "I don't think that they're coming back for us."

Rena didn't tense, but she did feel a pit form in her stomach. "Of course they're coming back for us," she insisted. "We're agents. We don't leave each other behind. We have each other's back."

Colby scoffed. "That's why I ended up needing a rookie to watch my back," he noted bitterly. "No offence," he added. "You had my back so well that you forgot to watch your own."

Rena smile was brittle. "Rookie mistake," she agreed. "But, they'll come for us," she reiterated. "They have to. Otherwise… otherwise I'll leave the FBI. And I'll take you with me. We'll form our own agency," she proclaimed.

Colby laughed, despite the obvious effort it cost. "With blackjack," he agreed.

Rena beamed. "And hookers," she added.

"I hate hide and seek! Come out here and die!" The drug smuggler shouted, from somewhere on the other side of the warehouse.

Rena glanced around. "He's not very good at seeking, no wonder he hates it," she muttered.

Colby nodded. "He's not very good at hiding either," he agreed. "We didn't even need Charlie for this." The pained lines in his face deepened, but Rena suspected that it was emotional rather than physical. From what she had seen Charlie Eppes was the only one on his team that didn't treat him any differently. He was the only one who was still treating Colby like a friend.

"They will come for us, Colby," Rena whispered.

Colby shook his head. "They offered me any job I wanted," he told her. "Anywhere, any job. Maybe, years ago, I would have jumped at the chance. To get closer to home. To see my mom. But… uh, she wasn't happy with me either, after the whole 'traitor' thing." He sucked in a gasp. "I… I don't want to go, Rena. I don't want to go away. I want to stay with my team. But…"

"But they don't feel like your team," she finished.

"It's like they don't even like me anymore," Colby admitted. "Never mind not trusting me."

One of Rena's hands was nearly glued to Colby's chest, putting pressure on his wound. But, with her free hand, she stroked his sweat stained forehead. "You just haven't earned their trust back, Colby."

"I don't know how," he said, pained. His eyes were bright and teary. He must be in a lot of pain.

"Just be yourself. Just show them who the real Colby Granger is."

"But I've always been the real Colby Granger to them. I don't know what else to do."

Rena frowned in sympathy. "You're doing all you can do, Colby. If they don't wise up soon themselves, then that's their loss. You're an amazing agent and a great man. Anyone who doesn't know that is a fool. Agents Eppes and Sinclair are fools." She blushed at the insubordination, but she wouldn't take it back if they heard her.

Colby snorted. "Thanks Rena," he coughed. It sounded weaker.

Rena bit her lip. "I think he's still at the other side of the warehouse," she whispered. "We can reach a door, if we get to the next corner. We just need to follow the wall."

"Go," Colby ordered. "Bring back help."

"No way," Rena refused. "I'm not leaving you. You'll only get yourself in trouble. Besides," she added. "You're the better shot. Even with a bullet in you, I trust you watching my back."

Colby smiled. "Thanks," he muttered.

Rena nodded. She slipped her gun out from its holster. Colby's had gone flying when he was shot, so hers was the only one they had. She dropped it into the hand opposite his injury. Despite his obvious pain, Colby's hand curled firmly around the gun. A lifetime of holding a gun making it second nature, no doubt.

Rena was already more than used to the weight of her weapon.

"Alright, let's move," he murmured.

Rena grabbed his free arm and dragged it over her shoulder. Colby bit back a grunt as she helped him clamber to his feet. They waved for a moment while Rena grasped for his belt.

Colby's hand white knuckled her vest while she kept up pressure on his injury. His gun arm didn't waver as he raised it.

Rena spared a second to ponder the fact that, even seriously injured and dripping blood, there was no one she trusted more to watch her back. If the smuggler found them, Rena had absolute faith that Colby would make the shot, no matter how much his hands were shaking. No matter how much of his strength it took.

Together, they shuffled along, keeping to the shadows and staying close to the edges of containers. There was a service exit, tucked into the corner of the warehouse. They had all known about it from their preparations for the raid, but the FBI hadn't seen any use for it during the bust. Now, it was Rena and Colby's Holy Grail.

Rena listened to Colby's breaths grow shakier and shakier as they walked. The gun lowered inch by inch with each step they took, but Colby keep searching out any movement with his eyes and Rena kept her ears peeled for any unusual sounds. She wasn't worried about the smuggler. Although, she probably should have been.

They were close enough that they could make out the light bleeding out from the edges of the door. It was strange to think that it was still daylight outside. Rena felt as though she had spent hours in the warehouse, days even, but she knew that it hadn't been even an hour since they had all been stood beside their SVUs waiting for the orders to storm the warehouse.

The smuggler made a noise.

Rena snapped her head so fast that she nearly gave herself whiplash. With the way that she was supporting Granger, her body was providing physical cover, except in the one direction that the smuggler had crept up on them. Granger had no cover.

The smuggler raised his gun. It seemed to happen in slow motion but, later, Rena would recount the smug look on his face. As far as he was concerned, he had them trapped like rats. There was no need for him to hurry.

His gun levelled with Colby. Rena saw his finger curl around the trigger. She didn't think. She spun and shoved Colby away, and dove.

The smuggler jerked, surprised to find a short FBI agent attempting to tackle him. In his surprise, he lowered the gun, but in his fear, he pulled the trigger.

Rena collapsed. Colby didn't. Another gun fired. The smuggler fell.

There was a burning pain through her thigh and a growing wetness around it, but Rena ignored it for a moment. She supposed that she was in shock. Medically and emotionally.

The smuggler's brains were splattered against the walls of the container. Rena was right, Colby's aim hadn't faltered. He stood, bloody, with the gun gripped in two hands. The light bleeding in from the service door cast a bright silhouette around him. He looked like some sort of modern mythical hero. Rena knew that her hero worship of Colby Granger would never go away. But, she suspected, neither would the sudden protective urge she felt.

"We needed him alive," Colby hissed. He wavered on his feet. To Rena's relief, he lowered the gun.

"You saved my life, Colby," she said. "Thank you," she added, gratefully. Carefully, she shuffled forward and brushed a hand against his leg.

It buckled underneath him, and he dropped down beside her in a fall that wasn't as controlled as he would have liked it to be. Bloodless hands fumbled at her bleeding thigh and she knocked them away with her own shaking ones.

"You shouldn't have pushed me out of the way," Colby slurred.

"I'm not letting you die. Not because of some jumped up smuggler. Not because of me. And not because Eppes and Sinclair are the slowest rescuers in the history of the world," Rena snapped. "You've saved my life twice, Colby. I don't want it to cost you your life." She pressed her shaking hands the wound in Colby's chest.

"Young! Colby!"

Rena grit her teeth. "About time," she hissed. "Over here!" She yelled. "By the service door! We've got an agent down! The suspect's dead!" She added, no need anyone wasting time looking for a dead man.

Agent Don Eppes found them first, followed closely by Agent David Sinclair. Rena wanted to scream at both men when they froze. Luckily, they leapt into action a second later.

Rena did scream when Agent Eppes reached for her leg. "Go for Colby first," she ordered, uncaring that this was a superior. "It's just a graze." She pretended not to notice Eppes hesitate before he added pressure to Colby's chest, pushing down on her own hands.

She could hear Agent Sinclair hunting down the medics and then directing them towards them, but she didn't pay it too much attention until Eppes peeled her hands away from Granger's chest and allowed him to be carted out on a stretcher.

A medic stayed with her, prodding at her leg with a little more force than Rena felt was necessary. At least he gave her a foil blanket to stop the effects of shock.

"Agent…?" Eppes began.

"Agent Young," Rena murmured. She fixed her gaze on Agent Eppes face. She didn't want to look down at her own bloody hands.

"Agent Young, what happened? We needed Smith alive."

It took a moment for Rena's brain to connect Smith with the dead smuggler behind her. "Colby was shot when the retreat was called. He pushed me out of the way. He saved my life. I wasn't going to leave him behind. He's a hero, you know? He's my hero, I wasn't going to leave him to die. We started moving to the service door. Granger had the gun while I held him up. The – Smith caught up on us. I didn't see him until he had his gun out. I pushed Colby out of the way and got hit. Colby killed Smith. He saved my life," she summarised.

Eppes nodded.

"He didn't think that you'd come for him," Rena added. She shot a look at Sinclair as she said it. She knew that she was skirting the edges of insubordination, but she had been shot and she was in shock, so she let herself get away with it. Just once. Besides, she had meant what she told Granger, she would leave the FBI if she had to and take him with her.

She still didn't know what type of cake he liked.

* * *

Colby stared up at the white hospital ceiling with a feeling of déjà vu. He sighed. At least he hadn't died this time. He hoped.

"Are you awake?" A hopeful voice asked.

Colby raised his head to see the beaming face of his temporary partner. Despite pain the movement caused, he couldn't stop his lips twitching into a smile. "Rena," he muttered. "Are you okay?"

Rena rolled her eyes. "It was a graze, Colby! The doctors spent more time finding me crutches than they did dealing with it. You're the one who's been in surgery!" She retorted. Then, her face softened. "You saved my life. Twice. Anyone who's been holding out on considering you a hero does now."

"Smith," Colby wondered. "They wanted him alive."

"He shot first. It's been ruled self-defence. His lawyer can't fight assault of a federal officer, much less one as heroic as you," she added, grinning.

Colby rolled his eyes. "I think I remember you saving my life too," he reminded her. "It's nothing."

"I disagree," said Rena. "You've been asleep for a day and a half, and your friends don't know what your favourite type of cake is, so I've been waiting to find out."

Colby laughed, wincing at the pain that followed. "You were serious about that?"

Rena nodded sombrely. "I never joke about cake, Agent Granger."

David paused in the doorway. Agent Young decided to take that as him moving out of the way to let her limp out of the room. Colby was watching him carefully, but David didn't look at him until the sound of Agent Young's clumsy attempts at using crutches had faded entirely.

"David," Colby said, quietly.

David didn't want to say anything, but his voice sounded too much like it had in that warehouse. "Nice to see you awake. We don't need anyone sleeping on the job," he tried to joke, but it came out uneven.

He still wasn't sure how he felt about Granger, but he did know that when he had thought that Colby was dead in the warehouse he had been devastated. Finding him, alive but injured, had nearly made him dizzy, first with relief and then with worry.

They were supposed to bring in the smuggler alive, but David was glad he was dead. He almost wished that he had gotten to pull the trigger himself. He had caught himself thinking that no one hurts my friend, as they wheeled the body out, even when he wasn't sure if Colby was his friend.

"Young says you saved her life," he said.

Colby shrugged, carefully, but still hissed as it doubtlessly jarred his injury. "She saved mine too, we're even."

David cleared his throat. "She said that you didn't think we'd come for you." Colby opened his mouth to argue, but David ploughed on. "She said a lot of other things while we were waiting for an ambulance. Apparently, she's not very happy with me and Don."

Colby didn't have a response. "I… it was too dangerous to go back into the warehouse. Our radios were busted, you didn't know where we were, or if we were still alive."

David nodded. "They weren't completely broken. We heard everything you two said in there."

Colby and Young's words had haunted him even while they tried to figure out how to get back into the warehouse. Colby was right, they hadn't known where they were to get back in. There was too great a risk in storming back in, until they heard the gun shots.

 _"I don't think that they're coming back for us."_

 _"I… I don't want to go, Rena. I don't want to go away. I want to stay with my team. But…"_

 _"But they don't feel like your team."_

 _"It's like they don't even like me anymore. Never mind not trusting me."_

 _"You just haven't earned their trust back, Colby."_

 _"I don't know how."_

 _"Just be yourself. Just show them who the real Colby Granger is."_

 _"But I've always been the real Colby Granger to them. I don't know what else to do."_

The Colby Granger that David knew wouldn't have doubted that his team was coming for him. That was the only difference between the man in front of him and the man that had been his partner for years. Colby was right, he was the real him. He had always been the real him. Colby hadn't changed. The team had. David had. He had stopped trusting Colby.

Colby had risked his life for his country. He had risked his life for a fellow agent. David didn't doubt that Colby would have done the same if it had been him. He would have done the same no matter who the agent was. No matter how bad they treated him, ignoring him. He had been willing, if not happy, to die for another agent, and he nearly did.

David had heard Colby tell Agent Young to leave him behind. He had heard her refuse. But, part of him wondered, would he have done the same? Internally, he balked at the thought of leaving a fellow agent behind, but would he had been as willing to die for Granger? Would he have been as willing to risk his life? For a man he didn't trust?

Yes, he would have. Because, he realised, he did trust Colby. He felt betrayed, even though he hadn't truly been, but his trust in Colby hadn't wavered. It had just been overshadowed.

He still cared about Colby. He still worried about him, thought of him, loved him, like his partner. If something had happened, if Colby had been more seriously hurt, if he had died, David would have mourned him like a partner. He would have grieved for him like a friend. He would have lost a brother. He lost Colby once, weeks before the goddamned freighter, he wouldn't do it again.

"I do trust you, Colby," David said, softly. "I know I haven't acted like it, but I do. You're my partner, and I'm not going to let either of us forget it. I trust you, Colby."

Colby smiled. "I trust you too, David."

* * *

 **A happy ending, yay. I feel like I should have warned about my action writing skills - or lack of. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed.**


End file.
